MacLaggen
by Naasad
Summary: One small discovery about Snake Eyes brings the ninja's entire past to light.
_**Renegades verse, takes place in my mind immediately after a non-canon mission after**_ **Homecoming** _ **, but before**_ **Brothers of Light** _ **.**_

 _ **Also, be forewarned, if you hate fics that deviate from the comicverse canon, don't read this.**_

…oOo…

"Seriously, Duke, of all the idiotic, hare-brained, _blond_ things to do!" Tunnel Rat ranted.

"Hey!" Duke shouted. "You don't get to pick on me because I'm the only blond!"

"Not strictly true," Scarlett said.

"Oh, what, Red?" Tunnel Rat asked. "You dye?"

Scarlett shook her head. "No. I was talking about Snake Eyes."

Immediately, all eyes but the lieutenant's turned to the back, where the ninja was meditating.

Snake Eyes shrugged. **American,** he signed in ASL for the others' benefit. **Child visiting Japan, car crashed. Only survivor.**

"American?" Roadblock echoed. "Where you from, Snake?"

 **M-I-S-S-O-U-R-I.**

"Ain't that where Duke's from?"

Duke blinked in shock, but kept his eyes on the road. "Is that right? Saint Louis?"

"Nah, he was just saying – "

Snake interrupted Roadblock with a nod.

"Or, apparently, yes."

"Huh, what's your family name?"

Snake Eyes was still for a moment, gauging the group.

"MacLaggen," Scarlett translated for Duke's benefit.

Duke slammed on the breaks and turned around in his seat to face Snake Eyes. "Two LEGO mini-figures in the vents. Which ones?"

"Uh, Duke?" Tunnel Rat asked. "What's going on?"

Snake Eyes stood and walked to the front of the truck. **Captain America, Red Skull. When clanging, saving world.**

Duke's mouth fell open.

 **But you dead. Not moving, not breathing. Why I ran. Scared.**

Duke shook his head and pulled Snake Eyes into a crushing embrace. "You're nothing but trouble, Thomas MacLaggen," he murmured into the ninja's shoulder.

Snake Eyes returned the embrace whole-heartedly.

"Someone care to explain?" Scarlett asked.

Snake Eyes made a quick sign. **Brother.**

"Brother?" Scarlett demanded, incredulous.

Snake Eyes nodded. **Big brother.**

Duke put a hand on Snake's shoulder. "My family used to go on yearly vacations to Japan. It was where my parents met. When my brother was six and I was fourteen, we got into a horrible car accident. Head-on collision. I shielded my little brother from the debris that made its way to the back seat, but got hit on the head and blacked out. When I woke up, my parents were dead, and my brother was just… gone. The Hausers took me in – my mom's brother, and his wife. They adopted me."

Roadblock sized up the two from where he sat, trying to get a read on them. They were standing fairly close, he noticed, as if mentally leaning on each other as they remembered the tragedy. He gave a small smile. At least some good came of this whole COBRA mess.

"Okay," Tunnel Rat said, adding his usual sarcasm. "The ninja is Duke's long lost baby brother."

 **Not baby,** Snake signed a little more violently than was necessary.

Tunnel Rat grinned. "Alright, then. You got any good embarrassing Duke stories?"

They could almost see the smile beneath the mask. **D-U-K-E-Y P-U-K-E-Y.**

Duke smacked Snake upside the head. "Chancey Dancey," he teased in return.

 **Dance is art.**

"Is that what your ballet teacher told you?"

 **No. She stick up ass. Break dance teacher.**

"You can dance, Snake Eyes?" Roadblock guessed he shouldn't have been so surprised. The ninja was as graceful as a jungle cat.

Snake shrugged. **Not really anymore.** He turned to Duke. **Dance is better than A-C-I-D R-E-F-L-U-X until you thirteen.**

Duke blushed. "It was a medical condition! My stomach was sensitive!"

The entire truck laughed.

"Alright," Roadblock chuckled. "I'll drive. You two catch up. It's been how many years?"

"Twenty," Duke murmured.

Snake put a hand on his brother's shoulder. **Glad found you. Wished twenty years say good-bye. Better.**

Duke smiled. "Me, too."

…oOo…

 _ **BONUS:**_

"So," Tunnel Rat leaned closer to Scarlett, "what color are the ninja's eyes?"

"Sea green," Scarlett answered absent-mindedly, as she sorted through reports on COBRA activity.

Tunnel Rat and Roadblock shared a look. "Nope, nothing going on _there_."

…oOo…

 _ **A/N: So the reason for the bonus scene is because this was supposed to be a fanfiction about the Joes noticing all the little things Scarlett knows about Snake Eyes and it all adding up to the big reveal of the two being secretly married.**_

 _ **Instead, this wrote itself.**_

 _ **Because, of course, the characters**_ **never** _ **do what they're told.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed, and it didn't deviate from canon too too much for you.**_

 _ **Read and Review!**_

 _ **Namarië!**_

 _ **~River**_

…

 _ **P.S. (Conrad "Duke" MacLaggen, and Thomas "Chance" MacLaggen. If people like this, I can write a one-shot on why it's Chance. Vote in your review. ;) )**_


End file.
